Professor of Rock

Up next The Electric story of one of the 70s greatest masterpieces. Bennie and the Jets by Elton John. A song that was truly a happy accident… as Elton stuttered a word in the chorus and it became the best part of the song… along with some misheard lyrics that most have been singing incorrectly for years. It was a hodge podge of Glam rock and fantasy to create a song that Elton was pissed off at the label for releasing over a single that He thought would be the big hit. As you’ll find out next it just so happens that the label and the artist were both right. The story is next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When Bad Songs Happen to Great Bands… Did one of the greatest bands of all time, the Beach Boys release one of the worst songs of all time in Kokomo? Today we’re telling the story of that chart-topping hit that polarized music fans. You’ve seen our #1 in Our Hearts episodes? Well, today’s episode could be the reverse of that. it’s made too many Worst Song of All-Time lists to count! How could one of the most iconic and creative bands in American pop history commit one of the 80s greatest musical sins? Well, the legendary genius Brian Wilson, Who wrote most of their material had nothing to do with it... Further, it was a big comeback #1 for a band that had been down and out since Brian, their musical leader had been MIA for years. Plus the shenanigans of Mike Love and his infamous Rock Hall of Fame speech! This one’s gonna be fun… Maybe you love the song it maybe you hate it. Let’s see NEXT on the Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Coming up. It may be the most famous opening monologue from a classic song ever …a brave sermon every 80s kid knows by heart. Prince Let’s Go Crazy, the #1 smash from the Purple Rain Soundtrack that blew up 1984. Just by its first few words: Dearly Beloved we are gathered here today to get through this thing called Life! Let’s Go Crazy is a high-energy, savage synth-rock masterpiece that will have you up on your feet the moment it hits. The only thing is, it may not be the straight-up party song you think it is. In fact, if you missed the cues in the intro, you may have missed its coded message entirely. Sung by one of music’s most enigmatic and controversial superstars, the purple one, He was already a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer. but this time he went beyond even that…And strangely enough, this 80s smash would prove to be prophetic as Prince was found dead in the very place he described in the song… once you hear this story it will bring a whole new meaning to the song next on Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Coming up next, a star-studded event with a diverse group of legends telling the story behind one of the Biggest movie soundtracks of the 80s. Footloose. It was one of only 5 albums to hit #1 the year it came out. A record that still stands and as a soundtrack it had 6 top 40 hits Footloose by Kenny Loggins, Let’s Hear it For the Boy by Deniece Williams, Almost Paradise by Mike Reno of Loverboy and Ann Wilson of Heart who we have interviews with to tell the story. The other hits were Dancing in the Sheets by Shalamar, Holding Out for a Hero by Bonnie Tyler and Heaven Helps the Man by Kenny Loggins, 3 of these songs hit the top 10 and 2 went all the way to #1. And the screenwriter, Dean Pitchford had a hand in all of them! There are so many great stories hear. There’s the top 10 duet that almost didn’t happen because one singer broke her hand. She had to sing without pain pills and first met her duet partner when they sang the first take which became the record! And then 2 of the #1 hit were pitted against each other for an Oscar. Find out who, plus an appearance by Kevin Bacon! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Two of most cerebral rockers and known perfectionists Donald Fagen and Walter Becker AKA Steely Dan, just knew they had a song for their debut album with Hit potential. It was called Reeling in the Years and was a bitter retort against Donald’s girlfriend who had ripped his heart out so he wrote a “get even” song that was missing one little thing... it lacked vibrancy and passion. So, the duo followed a deep gut feeling that they needed to bring in a musician that would provide the spark they desperately needed. Up next the story of a hired gun who stepped into a recording studio in Santa Monica to pull a song out of the doldrums and turn it into one of the greatest guitar tracks of all time, one that Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin called his favorite ever and one that became a 70s classic from their 1973 classic album Can’t Buy a Thrill NEXT on Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Up next the Mike Reno singer from the 80s rock band Loverboy breaks down one of their signature songs. It rocked the 80s. It’s a song that put ‘em on the map and started their rise to play stadiums. Mike Reno and guitarist Paul Dean met at a warehouse where the guitarist was jamming with his new band. Reno asked if he could belt out a few songs and it was so electrifying the two decided to collaborate right then and their! After they had this first hit some people read a little bit too deeply into the lyrics and claimed the song was about sadomasochism and bondage. This shocked the singer… The band clearly didn’t write it about this but now it’s become lumped in with that. The interview and story is coming up next on Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Paul Simon wrote the title track to the best-selling album of 1970, 71, and 72 as half of one of the biggest groups of the Rock Era, Simon and Garfunkel When the duo broke up, he embarked on a very successful solo career that burned hot through the 70s. But by the early 80s, his star had cooled, and he dug deep within his artistic soul for inspiration that took him to a faraway continent… Africa. He called it Graceland! It re-energized his career and became one of the most acclaimed of the 80s and one of the most controversial. Coming up, the story of the lead single You Can Call Me Al... which came from someone calling this legend the wrong name twice at a dinner party. The song actually failed until he created one of the funniest music videos ever with Mr. Chevy Chase. The story is next on Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

No way in hell was Jim Kerr and Simple Minds going to record today’s featured song… (a future #1 hit from an iconic 80s’ film.) Don’t You (Forget About Me) for the movie The Breakfast Club. They wanted nothing to do with it. They didn’t care if it was a lock. It was band policy… they only recorded songs they wrote themselves. End of story. In fact, they turned down this track six times. Finally, the songwriters Keith Forsey and Steve Schiff, desperate for them to sing it, had the movie’s director, John Hughes arrange a private screening… Simple Minds consented to watch The Breakfast Club and after that, they recorded the track. Turns out they rocked it. But stubborn as ever, they disowned it when it went Top 10 around the world. Come on, would these guys ever like this song? You know the rest of us sure did. Stick around for a great story NEXT on the Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Coming up, it’s the remarkable story of a #1 rock song from 1984 that was written on the porcelain throne. ya the Yes #1 classic rock standard, Owner of a Lonely Heart was written by Trevor Rabin while sitting on the pot In fact, Trevor said he wasn’t ashamed to sing in the loo. well, it’s hard to argue with the results. But even more importantly, this song was instrumental in bringing one of the greatest prog-rock bands of the 70s back from the dead and into the 80s. After years of being broken up, the founding members including Chris Squire and singer Jon Anderson, plus some new faces including producer Trevor Horn all converged around this song… giving them a new lease on life and a new musical direction. And to help us tell the story, we’ve got exclusive interviews with the iconic frontman Jon Anderson who co-wrote and sang this song… as well as some behind the scenes insight from the legendary record man Phil Carson who helped reunite this band. You’re not going to want to say “no” to this one. The story is… NEXT on Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Roger Hodgson grew up a happy boy but then his parents sent him away to a punishing boarding school. He put this horrendous experience and his search for sanity into an all-time 70s classic called The Logical Song. When he brought it to his band Supertramp a key member, Rick Davies hated it… but an adventurous recording session gave the song a true uniqueness including a strange instrument he Bought for a few bucks, as well as recording the iconic sax in a men’s room and adding a cool sound effect from one of the first handheld video games... In the end, the drummer made a 10-dollar bet with Roger Hodgson that the record Supertramp Breakfast In America would go top ten… the drummer won the bet in a big way when the album sold 20 million copies this amazing story is coming up next on Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.